1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to shipping and storage boxes. More particularly, the invention relates to cardboard boxes which are shipped in a flat configuration and are erected at the time of use. Specifically, the invention relates to a box in which the top and bottom flaps are retained in abutting contact with the side panels by living hinges when the box is shipped to a first consumer.
2. Background Information
Various types of boxes exist which may be manufactured of any flat material such as cardboard, and which are configured to efficiently fold into the final box shape. As people move about the country and the world, it becomes ever evident that the need for individuals to purchase and utilize storage and shipping boxes is ever increasing. Additionally, with the advent of e-commerce and more specifically the advent of online sites that permit people to purchase goods from remote sellers after bidding on the same over the Internet, there is a need for companies that conduct such e-commerce to send shipping boxes to their sellers for boxing up of the sold goods. However, presently known cardboard boxes, even when shipped, stored or displayed in a flattened, unassembled configuration tend to take up a significant amount of space. This is especially problematic if such flattened, unassembled boxes are to be forwarded to sellers through the regular postal service.
Cardboard cartons or boxes which are purchased in a flattened position and are assembled for manual loading generally include a plurality of flaps which extend upwardly into the air from a top edge of the sidewall panels. These flaps can be cumbersome to work around when loading the box. Various box configurations have been proposed in the prior art to try and deal with this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,348 to Monfort, discloses a box having four sidewall panels joined together along four fold lines. The box includes top and bottom flaps that extend respectively outwardly from the top and bottom edges of those sidewall panels. Some of the top flaps are secured to each other by a bridging member on the respective fold line. The box is shipped in a first collapsed position where the top flaps and bottom flaps are coplanar with the sidewall panels and extend outwardly away from the top and bottom edges thereof. The bridging members between some of the top flaps are positioned on the folds that form the outer corners of the collapsed box. A pair of diametrically opposed folds fall intermediate these outer corners. The top flaps are not connected together by bridging members along these intermediate folds. When it is time for the box to be erected, it is manipulated into a second collapsed position where the folds with the bridging members are moved to a position intermediate the outer corners. When in this second position, the top flaps are not connected by bridging members at the outer corners. This arrangement permits the assembler to fold the top flaps downwardly from their shipping position into a position where the exterior surface of each flap is in abutting contact with the exterior surface of one of the sidewall panels. The box is then opened up and the bottom flaps are used to close the bottom opening of the box. The exterior surfaces of the top flaps remain in abutting contact with the exterior surfaces of the sidewall panels. Consequently, the top flaps do not interfere with the loading of goods into the box's interior. When the box is fully loaded, the bridging members are broken and the top flaps are rotated to a position where they may be used to close off access to the interior of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,933 to Sharts discloses a similar arrangement where diametrically opposed folds include bridging members on the top flaps. Once again, the collapsed box is shipped with the top and bottom flaps coplanar with the sidewall panels and extending outwardly away from the top and bottom edges thereof. The bridging members are positioned on the folds that fall intermediate the outer corners of the collapsed box. The top flaps are not connected together by bridging members at the outer corners. Consequently, the box does not have to be moved from a first collapsed position to a second collapsed position, as was the case with the Montfort box, before folding the top flaps downwardly into abutting contact with the exterior surface of the sidewall panels. After purchasing the box, the consumer simply folds the top flaps from their shipping position into a loading position where the exterior surface of each of the top flaps is in abutting contact with the exterior surface of one of the sidewall panels. The box is opened up and the bottom flaps are rotated into a position where they close off access to the bottom of the box. The bridging members between some of the top flaps are broken once the box is loaded. The top flaps are then rotated out of contact with the exterior surfaces of the sidewall panels and into a position where they close off access to the box's interior.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,827 to Stice discloses a variable size container. Each of the adjacent pairs of the top and bottom flaps on Stice's box is connected together by a bridging member. The box is provided with a plurality of additional horizontal and vertical fold lines in various positions. This permits a variety of differently shaped and sized containers to be constructed from a single blank. The box is shipped to the end consumer in a collapsed position with the top and bottom flaps coplanar with the sidewall panels and extending outwardly away from the top and bottom edges thereof. In this instance, the top flaps are not folded downwardly into abutting contact with the exterior surface of the sidewall panels. Instead, the consumer folds the box along selected horizontal and vertical fold lines to make up the size and shape container they need. The bridging members that fall on the outer corners of the eventually constructed box are broken so that the top and bottom flaps can be rotated into a suitable position to close the box.
Rendall (U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,239) discloses a box with bridging members between each pair of top flaps. The box is shipped in a collapsed position with the top and bottom flaps coplanar with the sidewall panels. When the box reaches the consumer, they manipulate it into an open position and then rotate the bottom flaps to a position where they close off access to the bottom of the box. The top flaps may be left extending upwardly from the sidewall panels and the box may be used as an open top container. Alternatively, the bridging members between the top flaps may be broken and the top flaps may be rotated to close off the top of the box.
All of the above patents disclose that the box blank is shipped to the consumer in a position where the top and bottom flaps are coplanar with the sidewall panels and extend outwardly away from the top and bottom edges thereof. Consequently, the shipping size of all of these boxes is fairly large.
Therefore, the need exists in the art for a box which takes up less space when it is in a flattened, unassembled configuration and which is able to fit within the confines of a standard-size postal carrier's delivery bag, and which may be easily assembled by the user once received or purchased.